“2.5 percent is a $1.2 million cut to us and then also we have to pick up our share of the pension cost which is a little over $800,000,” Miller said. “Essentially we got a cut of $2 million going into that we’ve hired new faculty positions for next year and new programs to service the Paducah campus.”

Miller said the university was already looking at a $2.7 million deficit, thanks to a rise in health care costs and staffing Murray State’s Paducah campus. He said the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education is working to mitigate the proposed cuts, and MSU is already working to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance revenue.